Knowing how to drive is a very important skill, but unfortunately driving comes with some added costs. Outside of the costs of a car itself, you also need insurance. This can really hit your family budget hard, especially if you have multiple cars and multiple drivers. One way you can save money on car insurance is through safe driving courses. Attending traffic school tells an insurer that you are serious about driving safely and you know how to do it.

Don’t just book yourself into safe driving courses hoping to get better insurance though, as not every insurer – or indeed state – provide discounts for attending traffic school. You should also find out what the discount is, to make sure that it would be worth paying the costs of attending a driving class.

Does Attending Driving School Decrease Car Insurance Rates?

If you are attending a state-sponsored driving school, then there’s a good chance you can get a discount on your insurance. This isn’t guaranteed though. You should still ask your agent if they would offer you a discount. They may be willing to offer different discounts, such as homeowner discounts, safe driver discounts, and good student discounts. They may not ask you or bring these discounts to your attention, so you have to be sure to ask them.

Will Attending Driving School Reduce Insurance for Teen Drivers?

If you have a teenager that is coming up on driving age, you might be worried about the cost of adding them to your insurance. Teenagers are the most expensive group of people to insure because their inexperience makes them more likely to have an accident.

One way parents can offset these costs is to make their teen attend traffic school. There was a time when parents would be solely responsible for teaching their children to drive, but now teens are able to take driving classes from qualified instructors at high school. Even if they can’t attend driver’s ed at school, they should be able to find a good driving school.

These education courses are so great because they teach learners defensive driving techniques that help them drive better and avoid accidents. After they take – and pass – an education course, their parent can ask for a car insurance discount.

There aren’t any laws that mandate the discounts an insurance company has to offer for any state. Whether you get a discount, and how much is discounted, depends entirely on your insurer. Be sure to ask them outright if you qualify for a discount by going on a driving course. There’s no harm in asking, and it could be the only way you ever find out. They can also tell you about any other ways you can keep your vehicles and family protected.

What Other Discounts can Drivers Get?

Car insurance companies will generally offer a range of discounts to customers. No matter what, you should find that you can get at least some kind of discount if you ask.

Most drivers will qualify for anti-theft and car safety discounts as safety features are standard with just about every new car. Having car alarms, anti-lock brakes, seatbelts, and airbags can all qualify you for a potential discount in your car insurance.

Keeping house is so important these days, and a lot of this is to do with the way in which you go about making your home better. There are a lot of things that you can do that will help you to improve the property and make things better. You have to do what you can to ensure you keep your home looking great at all times, and this means focusing on keeping it clean and tidy as much as possible.

There are so many things to consider in this instance, and one of the most important things to think about is how to keep the home in order while you are doing work around the house. There is a lot to keep in mind with this, and the better the home looks, the happier you will be living there, not to mention the fact that you may well attract more buyers when it comes time to sell the home.

A spring clean is something you need to make sure you do every year and the one thing that keeps the home in wonderful condition all year round. A spring clean is a deep clean of the home where you go from room to room and make sure you thoroughly clean and tidy the home. This is something you have to make sure you get right every year, and it’s your chance to really clean those areas of the home that rarely get touched, such as the oven. Spring cleaning is an essential part of keeping the home clean and presentable, and it is definitely something you need to make sure you do.

Throw Unwanted Stuff Away

It is important to have a clear out and to purge your home of unwanted junk and clutter that has been lying around. There are too many people out there who like to hoard things, and this can cause a lot of clutter. Make sure you get rid of your rubbish by getting the professionals to take care of it. This means you need to contact rubbish removal companies, and you can read more on the page here to help you with them. Throwing away trash and unwanted items is a great way of clearing space in the home, and you might actually be surprised by just how much space you can clear in the property.

Weekly Chores

Weekly chores are all part and parcel of home ownership and are essential if you want to make sure you maintain your dream home. You have a lot to think about when it comes to weekly chores, but you need to ensure you stay on top of them for the sake of the home. In fact, it might be an idea to make sure you divide these chores up amongst the family so that everybody does something to help. This is an important way of having structure and keeping a bit of order when it comes to improving the home and making it look better.

It is pretty clear that there are a lot of ways you can go about keeping the home clean and tidy. This is something you need to make sure you focus on as much as you can in order to get the home looking as amazing as possible. Follow the ideas on here and make sure you use them to help make the home look as wonderful as you possibly can. Keeping the home looking clean and tidy at all times is the first step toward a healthy and happy home you can be proud of.

If you’re after a new car, the chances are you want something a little more salubrious than the motor you have now. You may have saved up for a little while and have a hefty amount in your bank account ready to be unleashed on a new vehicle. While it’s sitting there wallowing, you need to decide what sort of motor you want to see sitting on your drive. You might be keen to part exchange and save a few dollars on the purchase price. It doesn’t matter how you are funding your new set of wheels, it’s vital that your vehicle suits your lifestyle. Take a look at the sorts of motors you might be tempted to buy.

Campervan

While you might not have considered purchasing a home on wheels, if you love the great outdoors, adore nothing more than going camping for the weekend and yearn for going where the wind takes you, then you might want to scrap the idea of getting a car. A campervan does everything a car can do and so much more. You can still commute to work, visit friends and family and do the weekly shop. At the same time, you’ll be able to venture off on a road trip at a moment’s notice all the while showing off how achingly cool you are driving your retro 1980s campervan. While it might seem a little self indulgent, a campervan may be a practical option.

Hatchback

If you live alone, do a lot of city driving and money is tight, there’s nothing better than a simple yet trusty hatchback. So long as you aren’t heading out on the highways and making long journeys, hatchbacks can be a financially sound option. The insurance is low, they are cheap to buy and the parts are easily accessible should anything go wrong with your motor mechanically. If finances are tighter than you’d like, think about investigating auto loan rates to see if you can budget a little more stringently. For those people who want a small set of wheels and who aren’t petrol heads, then a simple vehicle that will get you from A to B will suffice.

Convertible

If you have plenty of readies in the bank, you don’t have a small brood of tiny human beings in tow, and you enjoy the thrill of the open road, it might be time to treat yourself. A sporty little number may be just what you are looking for. While the insurance may be a tad higher, you can feel safe in the knowledge that you will adore every drive you take. The horsepower will be immense, the handling will be a pleasure to master, and you will enjoy feeling the wind in your hair as you accelerate on the open road. While it might not be the most financially sensible or practical vehicle if you need plenty of trunk space, this is a sound investment if you want to have a carefree drive and fun when behind the wheel.

Purchasing your next car may be giving you a headache. However, by focusing on your lifestyle and the sorts of things you want from your vehicle, you will find the perfect set of wheels for you.

There is no getting away from how precious our babies are to us. From the moment we see the lines appear on the pregnancy test we are invested in their futures. Every twinge and stretching muscles, every wriggle and set of in utero hiccups is kept a watchful eye on by a team of professionals and ourselves. We pour over countless books about how to have a healthy and relaxing pregnancy, labor and birth and how the early days (now called the fourth trimester) might impact us mentally and physically. Sometimes, in the focus of the pregnancy and childbirth, we actually don’t pay as much attention to the following few days as we maybe should. There are a few checks that will be done on your little one in the days and week after birth, here they are and what they are for:

Immediately following birth:

APGAR score. This test is often done so quickly many post-birth parents won’t even see it being done, but you can ask your midwife if you like. The test is done at one, five and ten minutes post birth. Your baby will have the following things checked:

Heart rate

Breathing

Skin Colour

Movement

Response to stimulation

Each of these categories is given a score between zero and two. But what do the ratings mean? Well, between 8-10 means your baby is in excellent condition, 5-7 might need a little help but is in fair condition, and under 5 they might need a little bit of help. Be sure to keep in mind (as tricky as it might be) that even a low score might be rectified in an hour or so, it could be the effects of traumatic birth or a lot of pain relief making the baby sleepy. The test will be repeated as required.

Weight & Height:

When you have had the golden hour of skin to skin, you might find your baby might need to head off to be weighted. This is to make a start on your child’s development charts in their records. Height, weight and head circumference is noted down.

Standard Screening:

Heel stick test, this is where your babies foot will be pricked to collect some blood samples. You might like to comfort your baby during this process, some babies cry, and others seem too relaxed to care. Work with your midwife or paediatric nurse to make it as stress-free as possible. You are able to ask for extra screening should you feel like you want to, but the standard ones are usually enough to flag up any issues. You will be contacted in a matter of days if you need to have a follow-up.

Their hearing will be tested too. The two tests are relatively quick, between 5-10 minutes and non invasive. In fact, these tests are often performed when your baby is comfortably sleeping.

OAE test: Otoacoustic Emissions, this test checks what parts of a baby’s ear are responding to sound. A mini earphone and microphone are placed in the ear, and some sounds are played. A baby with normal hearing with have an echo played back into the ear canal, and the microphone will measure what is returned. If no echo is picked up by the microphone, it can indicate some hearing loss.

ABR test: The Auditory Brainstem Response test, this one checks out the brain’s response to sound. During this test, small headphones are placed in the ears, and sounds are played (similar to the first test). Small electrodes are positioned along the baby’s head to detect the responses.

(it is essential to protect your child’s hearing as they grow. You should invest in some baby hearing protection early in life. And stick to the 60% volume for a maximum of 60 minutes with headphones as they grow)

Pulse Ox: This non-invasive test measures how much oxygen is in the blood. It helps to identify heart issues, by detecting the amount of oxygen that is in the blood. A small sensor is placed on your baby’s skin, and it takes a few minutes to get the result. There will likely be tests at 24 hours old and a few days after you both leave the hospital.

You will not need to ask for any of these screenings to be done, they are done for all babies – regardless if you have health insurance or not. The screening test will most likely be on the forms for standard medical procedures that a newborn baby will need after birth. All states require these screenings to be done as it is designed to protect your newborn. All of these tests will be done from moments after birth to within 72 hours maximum.

Given the changing demands of the modern family, building a home office space is one of the most popular home upgrades currently on the market. But whether you’re converting a guest room, an attic or a garage, you need to do it in style. Frankly, knowing what you want to achieve with the space is arguably the most crucial element of all.

So, before confirming your plans, make sure your home office is designed to tick the four boxes below. Achieve this goal, and success is assured.

The home office space is a unique environment, and it should feel safe and secure at all times. After all, you are likely to store personal data and important work documents in the space. Whether they’re hard copies or stored electronically, good security is vital. This is a great excuse to boost your home CCTV and alarm systems. The benefits of doing this extend beyond the office.

It may also be necessary to place a lock on the door or certain filing cabinets and features. The last thing you need is to see important documents go missing due to curious young minds.

The Perfect Home Office Should Be Comfortable

Home office rooms should encourage productivity. Still, if you’re uncomfortable in this space, those mental distractions will leave you wanting to avoid the room altogether. Blinds and curtains allow you to control the natural lighting, which can be crucial. Meanwhile, it’s imperative that other fundamental features, like the HVAC systems, are in good health.

Perhaps most importantly, an ergonomic office chair and a suitable desk will allow you to work in the most efficient manner. Fail with this task, and the room will become a glorified storage space.

The space dedicated to office duties is likely to be one of the more compact areas in the home. Therefore, making the most of the available space is crucial. Master the lighting and choose suitable flooring to instantly make things look bigger and better. When combined with using shelving rather than bulky storage units, you’ll be in a far better position.

There are many ways to make things even easier, such as going paperless. Likewise, choosing high spec laptops over desktops can work wonders, especially if two people need the space.

The Perfect Home Office Should Be Yours

Above all else, the home office should offer a sense of belonging. Without making it as personal as the living spaces and bedroom, it needs to have a sense of character. Small gestures like wall art or sports memorabilia can brighten up the walls. Meanwhile, if you find it easier to work with music, a CD or record player can be a useful addition. Those touches make the place feel like home.

The ability to have things your way is the best thing about a home office over the standard work one. This can be the key to making the transformation feel worthwhile. Do not ignore its importance.